Mechanical Units Involved in the Bottling of LPG cylinders

Inputs • cylinders• water• LPG.• Management• Land • Labour• Material Equipment

Processes• Washing• Drying• Purging• Evacuation• Auto cap fixing • Aluminum crimping unit

Adjustments •Weighing corr.•Valve change

Random Fluctuations•Operational Defects•Market Forces•Natural Calamities •Availabilities of Crude

Comparison• Weighing scale.• Valve testing• SQC system

Outputs • LPG Cylinder

Monitor Outputs Degassing unit. Chain conveyor

system. Telescopic conveyor

system. pushers, stoppers,

line controls.

Washing unit

The Washing unit is online equipment used to wash the incoming cylinders with multiple forced jet of water to remove mud, dirt, stains, etc., from the outer surfaces.

Inside view Outside view

Drying unit

The Drying unit is an on-line equipment used to dry the cylinders, coming out of washing unit by blowing the air on the sides and top surfaces of the cylinders as they move.

CHAIN CONVEYOR:-

Chain conveyor is used for moving empty and filled cylinders from one location in the plant to another location passing through various processing points. This facilitates cylinder movement and helps automation in production.

The entire system consists of a variety of section like Straight, Bend, T joints, Drive Section etc.

This system is “wet type” wherein soap solution flows through chain tracks. The soap solution helps in reducing friction and wear and tear of chain. It also prevents build up of static charges.

CONVEYOR SYSTEM

ROLLER CONVEYOR:-

Roller conveyors are used for short distance movement of LPG cylinders. Unpoweredrollers made of aluminium pipes with ball bearings on both ends are provided forsmooth handling of cylinders on it.

TELESCOPIC CONVEYOR:-

These conveyors are used for loading of filled cylinders from main line conveyor into truck or for unloading empty cylinders from truck. It’s telescopic boom enters the truck with the chain moving on it in forward and reverse direction. Cylinders are loaded & unloaded respectively on/from the main line conveyor.

The On/Off of the conveyor chain and the forward/reverse/stop of the travel Boom is controlled by operating the respective push button stations.

ROLLER CONVEYER TELESCOPIC CONVEYERCHAIN CONVEYOR

Conveyor systemChain Telescopic

Purging unit: It is an on-line equipment

used to create vacuum in the first stage and filling LPG vapour in the second stage in new / hot repaired empty cylinders.

OR This equipment is used for

removing air from newcylinders and filling smallquantity of LPG vapour intothem. This process isessential for new cylinderwhich are being filled forthe first time. Thiseliminates the possibility ofstoring explosive LPG airmixture in the cylinder.

Cylinder Filling MachinesThe filling and control system consists of :• Main Pneumatic control panel• Pneumatic sensor (for actuating the flow control valve)• LPG Filling Gun with pneumatic clamping arrangement• Weight Balancer type support system for filling gun• Heavy duty non-sparking aluminum roller conveyors on platform• Front mounted pressure indicators for main air pressure and sensor air pressure• High pressure hose connection and shut off valves for LPG supply to the machine

Technical Specifications:- Type : Mechanical, Double Beam, Platform machine With Fully Pneumatic

Semi-automatic Controls Cylinder Filling Capacity : 5 kg. to 50 kg. cylinders Least Count : 100 gms. Filling Gun Clamping on cylinder valve : Pneumatic Operation START / STOP : Pneumatic Sensor Actuation Filling Operation Start : Press Start Button Filling will not start unless filling gun is clamped

securely Tare Weight Setting : Sliding Poise on secondary Beam-Easy User Friendly Design Filling Operation START/STOP act. : Pneumatic Filling Operation Stop : Automatic Filling Gun Release and Pull up : Automatic

PREFILLING MACHINE:-

This equipment fills a predetermined quantity of

LPG in a cylinder prior to the final filling. The

machine is provided with a pneumatic timer based

cut-off arrangement which stops the filling

operation after a fixed interval of time, thereby

ensuring filling of a fixed quantity of LPG

ELECTRONIC FILLING MACHINE:-

The electronic filling machine makes use of Strain

Gauge based Load cell. The tare weight of the

empty LPG cylinder is entered by means of a

keyboard integrated with the enclosure. Digital

Indicators provided with 3 display windows and an

integrated keyboard enclosed in an enclosure.

This machine has a flexibility of filling 5 Kg to 50

Kg net weight cylinders.

TEST BATH IN LINE TYPE:-

Filled LPG cylinders are passed through a water trough to detect leakage of LPG through cylinder body or bung.

This consists of a water trough with guide rails and an integral chain conveyor, which is installed along the length of test bath. The LPG cylinders are allowed to enter the test bath through gravity at the entry of water trough and exit by means of chain conveyor.

During the movement of cylinders through the trough leakage is detected through

observing bubbles.

DIP TYPE :- The equipment is used to detect

leakage through the cylinder body or the bung, while the cylinders are submerged in the test bath upto bung level.

TILTING TYPE:-

This equipment is installed inline chain conveyor. This test bath consists of an integrated conveyor, cylinder holding cage, a water tack & related pneumatics. A set of cylinders enters into the cage and gets tilted into the water tank holding the cylinders.

Check weigh scaleThe digital check weighing system with segregation

unit is designed to check the gross weight of a filledLPG cylinder and reject the cylinder from mainstream on to a loop conveyor if the gross weight ismore or less than the stipulated value.

The electronic check scale is programmed in such away to subtract 14.2 Kg or 19 Kg from total weight ofcylinder and the tare weight will be displayed.Operator has to compare the displayed tare weightvalue with the tare weight value punched on thecylinder and if the value is beyond the permissiblelimit, the cylinder will be rejected.

Weigh correction unit The unit is an on-line equipment used to ensure that correct weight of LPG fuel is carried in the cylinders.

Under-filled cylinders are filled with additional quantity of LPG and the weight is corrected.

Overfilled cylinders are checked and the weight of LPG fuel is corrected by evacuation process.

The Compact Valve Tester detects the valve seat and ‘O’ ring leak in a single operation. Bubbles, in the detection chamber of testing head, indicate the leakage.

This is a semi-automatic equipment consists of a CVT head hung from a post by spring balancer mechanism, a pneumatic panel with necessary valves & cylinders.

This equipment can be mounted on-line or offline and can be offered with single or double testing heads.

COMPACT VALVE TESTER

Safety Cap Fixing Machine

With excellent expertise, we manufacture and supply a large assortment of Safety Cap FixingMachines, which are ideal fro fixing the caps. These caps are designed using high grade raw materials that are obtained from the certified vendors. Our machines are highly acclaimed for their good performance and these are provided in numerous specifications, capacities, sizes and designs in the domestic as well as international market.

Automatic safety cap fixing unit

Auto cap fixer is an on-line equipment which is used to fix safety caps on to the valve of various LPG cylinders.

Aluminum seal crimping /Hot air sealing unit

Seal crimping unit is an on-line equipment used to crimp the aluminum cap seal around the cylinder valve as a final operation on the filled LPG cylinder i.e to Heat Shrink PVC Shrink Sleeves onto LPG Cylinder valves

Valve Changing Machine This Valve Changing Machine is used for

screwing or unscrewing cylinder valve from the cylinder. These hydraulic power pack provides controlled torque required for the operation. The torque can be set by adjusting the pressure using the regulators. This machine ensures correct tightening of valve into the cylinder.

This essentially consists of the following components: A fabricated steel body.

A Hydraulic Power pack for driving the screwing / unscrewing spindle.

A Flameproof motor for driving the power pack.

A manually lowered spindle arrangement equipped with a spanner for screwing / unscrewing operation.

A pneumatically operated clamping device for holding the cylinder during screwing / unscrewing operation with hand operated push pull valve control.

A roller table is provided to mount the LPG cylinder.

Valve change system

CYLINDER EVACUATION RACK ONLINE TYPE:- The purpose of this machine is to evacuate the LPG from the cylinders whenever it

is required to change the valves. This is an inline equipment capable of evacuating a batch of upto 6 cylinders at a time. The LPG cylinders are conveyed onto the evacuation unit by means of a chain conveyor.

The cradle where the cylinders are located during the evacuating process is capable of tilting through 180° by means of a rack and pinion arrangement. The entire operation is controlled by pneumatic arrangements and safety interlocks are provided to avoid any malfunctioning during the process.

OFFLINE TYPE:- The purpose of this machine is to evacuate the LPG from the cylinders whenever it

is required to change the valves.

This is an offline equipment capable of evacuating a batch of upto 6 cylinders at a time wherein the LPG cylinders are loaded manually onto the evacuation unit.

The cradle where the cylinders are located during the evacuating process is capable of tilting through 180° by means of a rack and pinion arrangement. The entire operation is controlled by pneumatic arrangements and safety interlocks are provided to avoid any malfunctioning during the process.

WEIGHT BASED EVACUATION UNIT:-

This equipment is intended of for the purpose of complete evacuation of LPG from defective cylinders. This is a fully automatic unit and one cylinder at a time is handled. This equipment is suitable for installation inline chain conveyor system and consists of a electronic scale, tilting cradle, evacuation gun, venting arrangement and related all other accessories.

Hydro Pressure Testing Unit

The Hydro Pressure Testing Unit is basically used for pressure testing of LPG cylinders as per the statutory norms. It consists basically a frame and tilting cradle made out of IS:2062 material in a batch 6 cylinders. The pneumatic system is provided to tilt the cradle whenever it is required. The unit facilitates for testing different size cylinders in batches without changing any setting in the equipment. The unit consists of Low Pressure & High-pressure pumps. The unit also consists of water storage tank & the water is re-circulated back to the tank to avoid the water wastage.

Degassing system:

Degassing unit is an on-line equipment used to remove LPG vapor from a batch of damaged cylinders identified during post fill inspection using water and air.

Pushers stoppers and line controls:

Pushers and stoppers are fabricated units with pneumatic cylinders along with proper guides. Smooth transfer of cylinders between the parallel conveyors .

The Largest and The Highest

largest LPG bottling plant, at Bajwan north of Baghdad (Iraq)

Indian oil refinery major, Indian Oil Corporation's Leh bottling plant set enjoys the distinction of being the highest bottling plant in the world - situated at 11,500ft above sea level.

References www.wikipedia.org

www.indiamart.com

www.raplindia.com

www.lpgindia.org

www.wtrg.com

www.pamsystems.in

www.mottmac.in